A BILL to repeal §3-2-24 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; and to amend and reenact §3-2-5, §3-2-6, §3-2-7 and
§3-2-11 of said code, all relating to electronic registration
of voters; repealing outdated code regarding manual voter
registration systems; authorizing Secretary of State to
promulgate procedures to permit persons to register to vote
through a secure electronic voter registration system;
providing an exception to address requirements on registration
for participants in the address confidentiality program;
permitting transmission of electronically stored signatures
for registration in certain instances; allowing acceptance of
registration with or without an email address; requiring
electronic registration be received by close of business on
the day of the registration deadline; permitting people to
register to vote through approved electronic voter
registration systems at certain locations; authorizing the
Division of Motor Vehicles to release certain information to
the Secretary of State upon notice and consent of the
registered voter; and making certain clarifications of current
code.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §3-2-24 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be repealed; and that §3-2-5, §3-2-6, §3-2-7 and §3-2-11 of said
code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:

(a) (1) All state forms for application for voter registration
shall be prescribed by the Secretary of State and shall conform
with the requirements of 42 U. S. C. §1973gg, et seq., the National
Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the requirements of the
provisions of this article. Separate application forms may be
prescribed for voter registration conducted by the clerk of the
county commission, registration by mail, registration in
conjunction with an application for motor vehicle driver's license
and registration at designated agencies. These forms may consist
of one or more parts, may be combined with other forms for use in
registration by designated agencies or in conjunction with driver
licensing and may be revised and reissued as required by the
Secretary of State to provide for the efficient administration of
voter registration.

(2) Notwithstanding any provisions of subdivision (1) of this
subsection to the contrary, the federal postcard application for
voter registration issued pursuant to 42 U. S. C. §1973, et seq.,
the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 and
the mail voter registration application form prescribed by the
Federal Election Commission pursuant to 42 U. S. C. §1973gg, et
seq., the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, shall beare
accepted as a valid formvalid forms of application for
registration pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(3) The Secretary of State is authorized to promulgate
procedures to permit persons to register to vote through a secure
electronic voter registration system.

(b) Each application form for registration shall include:

(1) A statement specifying the eligibility requirements for
registration and an attestation that the applicant meets each
eligibility requirement;

(2) Any specific notice or notices required for a specific
type or use of application by 42 U. S. C. §1973gg, et seq., the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993;

(3) A notice that a voter may be permitted to vote the
partisan primary election ballot of a political party only if the
voter has designated that political party on the application for
registration unless the political party has determined otherwise;

(4) The applicant's driver's license number or an
identification number issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles. If
the applicant does not have a driver's license or an identification
card issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles, then the last four
digits of the applicant's Social Security number; and

(5) Any other instructions or information essential to
complete the application process.

(c) Each application form shall require that the following be
provided by the applicant, under oath, and anyan application which
does not contain each of the following shall be consideredis
incomplete:

(1) The applicant's legal name, including the first name,
middle or maidenpremarital name, if any, and last name;

(2) The month, day and year of the applicant's birth;

(3) The applicant's residence address including the number and
street or route and city and county of residence except:

(A) In the case of a person eligible to register under the
provisions of 42 U. S. C. §1973ff, et seq., the Uniformed and
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the address at which he or
she last resided before leaving the United States or entering the
uniformed services, or if a dependent child of such a person, the
address at which his or her parent last resided; and

(B) In the case of a homeless person having no fixed residence
address who nevertheless resides and remains regularly within the
county, the address of a shelter, assistance center or family
member with whom he or she has regular contact or other specific
location approved by the clerk of the county commission for the
purposes of establishing a voting residence; andor

(C) In the case of a participant in the Address
Confidentiality Program administered by the Secretary of State in
accordance with section one hundred three, article twenty-eight
(a), chapter forty-eight of this code, the designated address
assigned to the participant by the Secretary of State; and

(4) The applicant's signature, under penalty of perjury as
provided in section thirty-six of this article, to the attestation
of eligibility to register to vote and to the truth of the
information given. The clerk may accept the electronically
transmitted signature kept on file with another approved state
database for an applicant who applies to register to vote using an
approved electronic voter registration system in accordance with
procedures promulgated by the Secretary of State.

(d) The applicant shall be requested to provide the following
information but no application shallmay be rejected for lack of
this information:

(1) An indication whether the application is for a new
registration, change of address, change of name or change of party
affiliation;

(2) The applicant's choice of political party affiliation, if
any, or an indication of no affiliation. Provided, That anyAn
applicant who does not enter anya choice of political party
affiliation shall beis listed as having no party affiliation on
the voting record;

(3) The applicant's residence mailing address if different
than the residence street address;

(4) The last four digits of the applicant's Social Security
number;

(5) The applicant's telephone number;

(6) The applicant’s e-mail address;

(6)(7) The address at whichwhere the applicant was last
registered to vote, if any, for the purpose of canceling or
transferring the previous registration; and

(7)(8) The applicant's gender.

(e) The Secretary of State shall prescribe the printing
specifications of each type of voter registration application and
the voter registration application portion of any form which is
part of a combined agency form.

(f) Application forms prescribed in this section may refer to
various public officials by title or official position but in no
case may the actual name of anyan officeholder be printed on the
voter registration application or on any portion of a combined
application form.

(g) No later than July 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
Secretary of State shall submit the specifications of the voter
registration application by mail for statewide bidding for a
contract period beginning September 1 of each odd-numbered year and
continuing for two calendar years. The successful bidder shall
produce and supply the required mail voter registration forms at
the contract price to all purchasers of the form for the period of
the contract.

§3-2-6. Time of registration application before an election.

(a) Voter registration before an election shall closecloses
on the twenty-first day before the election or on the first day
thereafter which is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.

(b) An application for voter registration, transfer of
registration, change of name or change of political party
affiliation submitted by an eligible voter by the close of voter
registration shall beis effective for any subsequent primary,
general or special election if the following conditions are met:

(1) The application contains the information required by
subsection (c), section five of this article. Provided, That
Incomplete applications for registration containing information
which are submitted within the required time may be corrected
within four business days after the close of registration if the
applicant provides the required information; and

(2) The application is received by the appropriate clerk of
the county commission no later than the hour of the close of
registration or is otherwise submitted by the following deadlines:

(A) If mailed, the application shall be addressed to the
appropriate clerk of the county commission and is postmarked by the
postal service no later than the date of the close of registration.
Provided, That If the postmark is missing or illegible, the
application shall beis presumed to have been mailed no later than
the close of registration if it is received by the appropriate
clerk of the county commission no later than the third day
following the close of registration;

(B) If accepted by a designated agency or motor vehicle
licensing office, the application is received by that agency or
office no later than the close of registration;

(C) If accepted through a registration outreach program, the
application is received by the clerk, deputy clerk or registrar no
later than the close of registration; and

(D) If accepted through an approved electronic voter
registration system, the application is received by the clerk of
the county commission or other entity designated by the Secretary
of State no later than the close of business on the final day of
registration; and

(3) The verification notice by the provisions of section
sixteen of this article mailed to the voter at the residence
indicated on the application is not returned as undeliverable.

§3-2-7. Hours and days of registration in the office of the clerk
of the county commission; in-person application for
voter registration; identification required.

(a) The clerk of the county commission shall provide voter
registration services at all times when the office of the clerk is
open for regular business.

(b) AnyAn eligible voter who desires to apply for voter
registration in person at the office of the clerk of the county
commission shall complete a voter registration application on the
prescribed form and shall sign the oath required on that
application in the presence of the clerk of the county commission
or his or her deputy: Provided, That an individual may apply for
voter registration using an approved electronic voter registration
system if available at the office of the clerk. Such system may
electronically transfer the voter’s signature stored in the
database of another state agency in accordance with procedures
promulgated by the Secretary of State. The applicant shall present
valid identification and proof of age. except that The clerk may
waive the proof of age requirement if the applicant is clearly over
the age of eighteen.

(c) The clerk shall attempt to establish whether the residence
address given is within the boundaries of an incorporated
municipality and, if so, make the proper entry required for
municipal residents to be properly identified for municipal voter
registration purposes.

(d) Upon receipt of the completed registration application,
the clerk shall either:

(1) Provide a notice of procedure for verification and notice
of disposition of the application and immediately begin the
verification process prescribed by the provisions of section
sixteen of this article; or

(2) Upon presentation of a current driver's license or
state-issued identification card containing the residence address
as it appears on the voter registration application, issue the
receipt of registration.

§3-2-11. Registration in conjunction with driver licensing.

(a) The Division of Motor Vehicles or any other division or
department that may be established by law to perform motor vehicle
driver licensing services shall provide each qualified registrant,
as an integral and simultaneous part of every process of
application for the issuance, renewal or change of address of anya motor vehicle driver's license or official identification card
pursuant to the provisions of article two, chapter seventeen-b of
this code, a voter registration application as prescribed in
section five of this article when the division’s regional offices
are open for regular business. An individual may apply for voter
registration using an approved electronic voter registration system
if available at a Division of Motor Vehicles regional office.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, the Division of Motor Vehicles is required to release the
first name, middle name, last name, premarital name, if applicable,
complete residence address, complete date of birth of an applicant
and the applicant’s electronic signature, entered in the division’s
records for driver license or nonoperator identification purposes
upon notice and written consent of the applicant. The notice and
consent is a required component of an electronic voter registration
application made available to the general public by the Secretary
of State. The release of an applicant’s signature by the Division
of Motor Vehicles to the Office of the Secretary of State applies
to any voter registration application approved through an
electronic voter registration system approved by the Secretary of
State regardless of the locationof the online user and provided
the user grants written consent.

(b) Any(c) A person who fails to sign the voter registration
application or who fails to return the voter registration
application to a driver licensing facility or to an appropriate
voter registration office shall beis considered to have declined
to register. Information regarding anya person's failure to sign
the voter registration application is confidential and may not be
used for any purpose other than to determine voter registration.

(c) Any(d) A qualified voter who submits the application for
registration pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section in person at a driver licensing facility at the time of
applying for, obtaining, renewing or transferring his or her
driver's license or official identification card and who presents
identification and proof of age at that time shall not beis not
required to make his or her first vote in person or to again
present identification in order to make that registration valid.

(d) Any(e) A qualified voter who submits by mail or by
delivery by a third party an application for registration on the
form used in conjunction with driver licensing shall beis required
to make his or her first vote in person and present identification
as required for other mail registration in accordance with the
provisions of subsection (g), section ten of this article.
Provided, That If the applicant has been previously registered in
the jurisdiction and the application is for a change of address,
change of name, change of political party affiliation or other
correction, the presentation of identification and first vote in
person is not required.

(e) Any(f) An application for voter registration submitted
pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be considered as
updating anyupdates a previous voter registration by the applicant
and shall authorizeauthorizes the cancellation of registration in
any other county or state in which the applicant was previously registered.(f) Any(g) A change of address from one residence to another
within the same county which is submitted for driver licensing or
nonoperator’s identification purposes in accordance with applicable
law shall also serveserves as a notice of change of address for
voter registration purposes unless the individual indicates on the
form that the change of address is not for voter registration
purposes.if requested by the applicant after notice and written
consent of the applicant.

(g)(h) Completed applications for voter registration or
change of address for voting purposes received by anyan office
providing driver licensing services shall be forwarded to the
Secretary of State within five days of receipt unless other means
are available for a more expedited transmission. The Secretary of
State shall remove and file any forms which have not been signed by
the applicant and shall forward completed, signed applications to
the clerk of the appropriate county commission within five days of
receipt.

(h)(i) Voter registration application forms containing voter
information which are returned to a driver licensing office
unsigned shall be collected and maintained for two years according
to procedural rules promulgatedby the Division of Motor Vehicles,
submitted to the Secretary of State and maintained by the Secretary
of State’s office according to the retention policy adopted by the
Secretary of State.

________________

(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide an electronic
voter registration system allowing for greater utilization of the
Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS), to allow for use of a
designated address for voter registration purposes for participants
in the Address Confidentiality Program, to establish an offense and
related penalty for tampering with or copying voter registration
information collected by third-party registration drives, to delete
obsolete language related to manual voter registration systems, to
shorten the period of time during which county clerks may enter
voter history data into the statewide voter registration system, to
clarify certain record-keeping requirements related to confirmation
mailings required by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
and to restrict the public release of voter e-mail addresses.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)